DANCING ACROSS BORDERS Directed by Anne Bass Produced by Anne Bass Catherine Tatge 88 minutes, Color, 2010 35mm, HDCAM-SR 1.85, Dolby SR First Run Features (212) 243-0600/Fax (212) 989-7649 Website: www.firstrunfeatures.com Email: [email protected] PRAISE FOR DANCING ACROSS BORDERS {OFFICIAL SELECTION SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2009} “Even if you don’t know your pliés from your battements frappés, the dance sequences in Dancing Across Borders are a delight.” –Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times “An illuminating profile … riveting, breathtaking performance.”—S. James Snyder, Time Out New York “Moving, Cinderella-esque documentary film …a powerful story.” –Todd Eberle, Vanity Fair “Dazzling to behold.”-Michelle Orange, The Village Voice “A joy to witness.” –New York Magazine “Astonishing, uplifting story… an unusual and exhilarating behind-the-scenes peek at the rigorous art form of ballet.” –Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice “A heartwarming true-life tale …the film undoubtedly will be appreciated by dance aficionados.” –Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter “A wonderful and moving documentary …an Oscar-worthy delight.” –Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, The Huffington Post "This story's a fairy tale come true. It's magical to watch Sar, who seems as light as air but powerful as a gale-force wind. You can applaud now." –Deborah G. Guadan, San Francisco Chronicle “Lovely, inspiring, and thought-provoking…well worth your while!” –Alex Kafka, True/Slant “Whether or not you're interested in ballet, you should still see this very inspiring film.” –George Whipple, NY 1 “Sy is such a compelling personality and his story is so fascinating that you don’t have to love ballet to appreciate it.”-Rick Warner, Bloomberg News “Informative and flavorful..Sar's evident sweetness and talent seem to be guiding him to acclaim from the beginning.”-John Neumaier, New York Daily News “Remarkable…absorbing.”-Ed Scheid, Box Office Magazine “The compelling odyssey of a Cambodian dancing genius.”-George Christy, The Beverly Hills Courier Critics’ Pick! –Philadelphia Inquirer “In a mere 88 minutes, “Dancing Across Borders” tells several overlapping stories engagingly…we see deeply into the challenges that every fledgling ballet dancer must face on the road to prowess.” –Lewis Segal, LA Times “A wonderful mix of ballet rehearsals and performances, the saga of a young artist's struggle and success, and a personal story of dealing with cross-cultural conflict and resolution.” –San Francisco Classical Voice “A well-researched, nostalgic trip into this bygone era.” –William Wolf, Wolf Entertainment Guide “(A) rich panoply of ballet on display.” –Ronnie Scheib, Variety “Celebrating human achievement even as it raises questions about the sacrifices demanded for art...Sy’s progress is astounding but agonizing.”–Michelle Velucci, Brooklyn Rail “Intensity and passion is evident in every frame of this affecting documentary…a bird's-eye view of what it means to transform a young, raw talent into a ballet dancer.” –Christopher Kelly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Charming… A young dancer's journey from Cambodia to Pacific Northwest Ballet.” – John Hartl, Seattle Times “A remarkable story…engaging documentary.” –Heather Wisner, Dance Studio Life “Satisfying, remarkable… Dancing Across Borders is bound to inspire a great deal of aspiring dancers from all walks of life.”-Matt Fagerholm, HollywoodChicago.com “A work of optimism and belief in hope … every young person connected to Dance should see it; as well as every other young person and all adults.” Merrill Brockway, Producer and Director, Camera Three and Dance in America “I was floored and riveted ... an ode to possibility, risk, discipline, and passion…sincere and smart, earnest and heartfelt but profoundly about art and love.” -Jerry Saltz, Senior Art Critic, New York Magazine SYNOPSIS On a trip to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia in January 2000, filmmaker Anne Bass came across a sixteen-year-old boy who moved her immensely with his amazing natural charm and grace as a dancer. A longtime devotee of the world of dance, Bass felt compelled to give this young boy the opportunity to leave his home and follow a dream that he could not yet have fully imagined. From the serene countryside of Southeast Asia to the halls of New York’s School of American Ballet to the stage of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, DANCING ACROSS BORDERS peeks behind the scenes into the world of dance and chronicles the intimate and triumphant story of a boy who was discovered, and who only much later discovered all that he had in himself. LONG SYNOPSIS DANCING ACROSS BORDERS is a feature-length documentary about change, growth, and the powerful interaction of many talented people. Produced by Anne Bass and Catherine Tatge and directed by Anne Bass, DANCING ACROSS BORDERS premiered at the 2009 Seattle Film Festival. In January 2000, Sokvannara (Sy) Sar was performing in a temple with a traditional Cambodian dance group when American dance patron Anne Bass saw him. His abilities made a strong impression on her and after she returned to America the memory of Sy’s performance lingered. After much deliberation she asked the World Monuments Fund, who helped sponsor Sy’s dance troupe, to contact his teacher and parents to see if Sy would like to visit America and audition in New York for the School of American Ballet (SAB) which is considered America’s premier ballet training academy. What unfolds is a tentative negotiation between Sy and the world of American ballet culture—and between Sy, Bass, and his new dance teacher, Olga Kostritzky. At sixteen Sy was already considered old to study ballet, and so trained privately for two years with Kostritzky, the head of the boys program at SAB. Kostritzky first worked with Sy in a private studio, helping him catch up with his peers— most of whom had already been training for at least six years. A few months after beginning his training, Sy entered SAB where he studied for five years. Then, Peter Boal, a principal dancer with New York City Ballet and one of Sy’s instructors at SAB, became the artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) and invited Sy to join PNB School’s Professional Division. The first time that Sy performed ballet in Cambodia was when he was invited to be part of a theatrical performance of Cambodian and American artists to celebrate the rededication of the US Embassy in Phnom Penh. A few months later he was coached by Kostritzky for the International Ballet Competition at Varna, Bulgaria, the world’s oldest and most prestigious ballet competition, where he reached the semifinals. Eventually, Sy was asked to be an apprentice and to join the corps de ballet at PNB. The film follows Sy’s training and development as a dancer through footage that was originally made to inform his parents of his progress in America, and it offers a view behind the scenes of the world of ballet. There is also extensive footage of his performances for the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, and the competition in Varna and as a company member with PNB in Seattle and at the Vail International Dance Festival. Many people who have aided Sy since he left Cambodia are also interviewed and they include former Cambodian Ambassador to the US, Roland Eng; founder of the Nginn Karet Foundation, Ravynn Karet-Coxen; and the founder and director of AMRITA, Fred Frumberg. In addition the film follows Sy as he visits his parents and his old school of Khmer dance, and as he attempts to come to terms with the challenge of adapting to a new country while not losing touch with Cambodia. His story is one of growth, adaptation, and belonging as well as of the development of talent and the mastery of an art form. It is hoped that his story will be an inspiration to all young people and especially those of Cambodia as they struggle to regain their identity and hope for a better future following the lingering upheaval of the Khmer Rouge era. DIRECTOR’S Q&A with ANNE BASS Q: What was the genesis of this particular project and what inspired you to direct this as your first film? I did not originally set out to make a film. When Sokvannara (Sy) Sar first came to New York I photographed and filmed his dance classes in order to be able to send a record of his progress to his mother in Cambodia. Some years later, there was Cambodian TV footage from Sy’s performance that was part of an evening to celebrate the dedication of the new US Embassy building in Phnom Penh. The summer following this performance Sy competed in the International Ballet Competition in Varna where the officials filmed the performances of all the competitors. Many of my friends had come to know Sy and follow his progress as he studied ballet, and so after the Varna competition where Sy’s performance had been quite remarkable, I wanted to show these specific performances to a number of my friends. I then found a film student to help me string together Sy’s five Varna variations as well as some performances of other competitors. While we were editing these, I had the idea of incorporating some of the other footage I had collected, and so we added pieces of this as well as some hastily conducted interviews with his teacher and coach, Olga Kostritzky. The whole idea had only been to entertain a few friends for an evening, and then, to my surprise, it was well received by my peers. Thinking about this over the next few days, I became increasingly affected by their reactions, and I began to see more clearly that within the facts and the context of Sy’s story and his development as a person and as a dancer under the guidance of a remarkable teacher, there really was a potentially interesting film.